Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday 25 ULTIMATE TURN-OFF. We'd like to dedicate this week's calendar to the second annual National TV-Turnoff Week, April 25 through 30. Literature from the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization TV Free America reports the average American's cathode diet consists of more than four hours of programming daily. At that rate, that's nine full years in the La-Z-Boy by age 65. It's time to rise up and switch off your oppressor! Weekend events include tonight's downtown Art Walk, Saturday morning storytelling at local bookstores and a book sale. (Pledge cards for event discounts throughout the week are available at Buffalo Kids, The Haunted Bookshop and The Book Mark.) Although outdated, our personal pick for frightening, thought-provoking reading is Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, by Jerry Mander, which you might even be lucky enough to find at a used book store. For event information throughout the week, call 624-3970. BURMA AND BEYOND. At the very least, forego tonight's "Must-See TV" lineup to revisit the real privileges we Americans take for granted by listening to student exile Zar Ni's lecture, Burma: The South Africa of the '90s. Inspired by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who delivered the opening address to the U.N. Beijing Conference last summer, Ni started the Free Burma Coalition in September 1995. Now a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of California, Davis, Ni is dedicated to writing and speaking publicly about the censorship, restrictions on personal freedom and political repression he lived under for 24 years. A few weeks after his departure in March 1988, the military massacred nearly 6,000 pro-democracy student demonstrators--the events of which were recently chronicled in the film Beyond Rangoon. Ni will speak about the current political and human rights situation in Burma and the social responsibility of multinationals such as PepsiCo and UNOCAL, both accused of profiting from forced labor, in a free lecture at 5:30 p.m. in Franklin Building Room 202, on the UA campus at Park Avenue and Second Street. Call 621-1877 for information. Friday 26 GREEK FOR A DAY. That's what $3 will get you, and don't worry--it has no affiliation with goldfish swallowing at the UA. This year's Greek Fest, hosted by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), expects nearly 14,000 visitors. Costumed dancing, dance classes, live entertainment by the Adephia band, children's rides, and door prizes are among the festival offerings. A gyro-eating contest is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday. Although the Greek population of Tucson is small, the event has always enjoyed great success, gaining particular notoriety for its Greek delicacies including spanakopita, saganaki and pastitsio. Festival hours are 5 to 11 tonight, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at the Hellenic Community Center, 1145 E. Ft. Lowell Road. Children under 12 get in free; and seniors get in free before 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call 888-0505 for information. Saturday 27 MOVEABLE MUSICAL FEAST. Join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for its final Moveable Musical Feast of the season at 6:30 p.m. in the gardens and hidden courtyards of the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. The TSO flute and string trio and the brass quintet provide the backdrop for an evening of elegant dining under the stars. The menu is a sumptuous blend of green salad with strawberries, stuffed shrimp and angel hair pasta, grilled vegetables, fresh-baked breads with butter and wine; and the dessert table will leave no sweet tooth dissatisfied. Cost is $60, with proceeds supporting this vibrant, local fine arts group's educational, cultural and community programs. Reservations will be taken up to the day of the event. Call 882-8585 for tickets and information. QUEEN IDA'S REIGN. All hail: Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band returns for another unforgettably good time in the courtyard at St. Philip's Plaza, 4300 N. Campbell Ave. Do a little Cajun two-steppin', set your soul ablaze with samples from family recipes from Queen Ida's Cookin' With The Queen cookbook--as prepared by Café Terra Cotta, Oven's and Daniel's--and experience zydeco music as salty and spicy as you'll find anywhere this side of the bayou country. Gates open at 7 p.m., with Hal Jackson & Bass Culture setting off a reggae rave at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $20, $15 for KXCI and TJS members, available at Hear's Music, Piney Hollow, Zip's University, Loco Records and other convenient Tucson locations. Call 623-1000 for reservations and information. Tickets will cost $3 at the gate, but don't wait. Last year's event was a sold-out show, and nobody went home early. MARIACHI MARATHON. The 14th annual Tucson International Mariachi Conference explodes with activity today at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., with an international artisans' exhibit, Mariachi parade, "Mariachi mass," and an "espectacular concert" at 2 p.m. in the TCC Arena. The main event, however, is the free Fiesta de Garibaldi from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at downtown Armory Park, South Fifth Avenue between 12th and 13th streets. Follow the parade route at 10 a.m. outside the TCC. Call 791-4838 for information. Sunday 28 PRIVATE EYES. "I think the sheer volume of information we are handed, whether it's over the TV or in the paper, has made us suspicious of what is said to us," said playwright Steven Dietz in a recent interview with ATC's Preview. He's referring to his latest production, Private Eyes, a GENESIS workshop piece which will premiere as the season finale for the 1995-96 Arizona Theatre Company season. Described as "a comedy about the fantasy of lust and the reality of love," the production takes the audience through a disquieting, titillating funhouse of deception. "Private Eyes conjures up not only a trench-coated image, but something more intimate...the daring adventure of two lovers left alone with one another...with nothing between them but the gaze of their eyes--part embrace, part lie-detector," said Dietz. Previews continue tonight through Thursday, May 2, at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Preview tickets are $17 and $21. Production continues with evening performances and matinees through Saturday, May 18. Regular performance tickets range from $17 to $26. Call 622-2823 for reservations and information. RELÂCHE RULES. Fans of new music--as in, really new, innovative, off-the-wall music--should consider the debut performance of this Philadelphia-based chamber ensemble a must-see. Relâche has built up a repertoire of more than 500 works over the past 19 years, all of them pushing the limits of experimental music to create a sound The Village Voice calls "smooth, hip and understated." The Tucson concert will feature works by American composers Philip Glass and Robert Ashley, Mexican composers Arturo Marquez and Eduardo Soto Millan, and English composer Michael Nyman, all of which have been commissioned by Relâche. Concert begins at 7 p.m. at the PCC Center for the Arts, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $5 to $14, available in advance from Dillard's, Hear's Music and the West Campus Student Center. Call 884-6986 for reservations and information. Monday 29 ELECTORAL FUNHOUSE. If you've been wondering where all the subversive fun has gone this election year, search no more. Local hipster artist Matt Marcus, along with his collaborators The Bureau of Ideaphoria, have taken a University-owned house scheduled for demolition and converted it into a politically-themed funhouse. A talking Uncle Sam skull, a room full of cartoon politicians spewing air, and a debate between Big Gulp and Thirstbuster (which is more convenient?) are just a few of the attractions in this installation project that "lampoons the increasing absurdity of political campaigns in the U.S." There's also information about candidate funding and the voting records of members of Congress, so you might get the chance to think a little while drowning in buckets of fun. The house is located at 1227 N. Warren Ave., one-and-a-half blocks north of Speedway and two blocks west of Campbell Avenue. It's open from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through May 3. Tuesday 30 INTERNATIONAL BEAT. Tucsonans planning to attend tonight's concert at the Rialto Theatre will hear live the results of Salif Keita's years of commitment to becoming an international artist. His latest travels took him all across Africa, where, during his sold-out tour, he absorbed the unique influences of a broad sampling of African music. Works from his latest release, Folon...The Past, masterfully incorporate zouk/high life music, Nigerian Afrobeat, and mellow reggae grooves. The lyrics speak of his passionate feelings about Africa and his role as a musician there. In his early years he rapidly achieved recognition as a singer in the Rail Band and Les Ambassadeurs, blending French pop music with African and Cuban influences. Since then, Keita has traveled extensively in Europe and America, embracing and incorporating a musical vocabulary that makes his music at once unique and familiar. Showtime is 8 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets are $15 in advance, $14 for KXCI and TFTM members and students with I.D. Tickets are available at Hear's Music, Antigone Books, and all Zia locations. SOLAR FIELD TRIP. The Environmental Research Lab, located just east of the Tucson International Airport at 2601 E. Airport Drive, is one of Tucson's lesser-known points of interest. Over the years the lab has quietly continued its research on sustainable agricultural systems (such as those used in Biosphere II), aquaculture and solar technology specifically for low-impact desert living. It's in the latter area that Bill Cunningham, a solar consultant who designed "cool towers" years ago when he worked with the lab, brings the technology up to date with information on solar-powered evaporative coolers. His free presentation, Using Solar Energy to Cool Your Home, starts at 7 p.m. Arrive early and enjoy the sunset on ERL's lush "Solar Oasis" patio, a lovely outdoor innovation using applied environmental science. Call 883-8880 for directions and information. Wednesday 1 PERSONA--FIED. The UA Poetry Center concludes its spring reading series with an evening of poetry from the award-winning undergraduate art/literary magazine, PERSONA. Contributors read from original works at 8 p.m. in the Modern Languages Building auditorium. Admission is free, and reading will be followed by an informal reception. Call 321-7760 for information on this and upcoming Poetry Center events. Editor's Note: Intern Fiona Gow assisted in the writing of this week's events calendar. City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Mari Wadsworth. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc.

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